A REVIEW OF THE SPINY MOUSE GENUS SCOLOMYS (RODENTIA, MURIDAE, SIGMODONTINAE) WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM THE WESTERN AMAZONOF BRAZIL

Included within a collection of mammals assembled during a yearlong ve rtebrate survey of the Rio Jurua in the western Amazon Basin of Brazil is a series of specimens of a new spiny mouse of the genus Scolomys. This genus is one of the more highly-localized and poorly-known murid rodents of the neotropical forests. Prior to the collection reported h ere, there were two recognized species known from a total of 15 specim ens. One of these, S. melanops Anthony, 1924, is known only from three closely spaced localities in eastern Ecuador; the second, S. ucayalen sis Pacheco, 1991, is known from only one locality in north-central Pe ru. We provide a revised diagnosis and description of the genus while describing the third species, suggest phylogenetic affinities of the g enus within the tribe Oryzomyini, and summarize aspects of the ecology and life history of the new species.